


Peace is just a Temporary State of War

by VictoryanBladeFair



Series: For those who have an unknown past and an uncertain future [5]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. References, Angst, Assassins, Avengers Family, Awkward Sexual Situations, Barton Family mentioned, Black Panther - Freeform, Black Widow - Freeform, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Broken Families, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Returns, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Canonical Character Death, Captain America - Freeform, Captain America's Shield, Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Civil War, Civil War Team Captain America, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Difficult Decisions, Drugs, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Drama, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fighting, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Graphic Description, Hawkeye - Freeform, Heavy Angst, Hydra (Marvel), Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Torture, Iron Man - Freeform, Jokes, Lots of Angst, Melinda May - Freeform, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Motherhood, Natasha Feels, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Nicknames, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pain, Parenthood, Past Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Past Relationship(s), Pepper Potts mentioned - Freeform, Phil Coulson Has the Patience of a Saint, Pre-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Prince T'Challa (Marvel), Protective Bucky Barnes, Psychological Torture, Scarlet Witch - Freeform, Scott Lang - Freeform, Sexual Content, Sexual Frustration, Sexual Humor, Smut, Swearing, Team Captain America, Tears, Thaddeus Ross - Freeform, The Winter Soldier - Freeform, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Torture, Vision - Freeform, Wedding Fluff, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, ant-man - Freeform, falcon - Freeform, helmut zemo - Freeform, king t'chaka - Freeform, might feel out of character sometimes, peggie carter, secret phone calls, sharon carter - Freeform, shield agents & staff - Freeform, violance, wanda is a big sis, war machine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-11-12 10:42:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11160228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VictoryanBladeFair/pseuds/VictoryanBladeFair
Summary: Steve couldn't have been more happy. The love he felt for his girlfriend and for his newborn daughter seemed like a perfect fairytale. But everyone knows that perfect isn't really perfect and peace doesn't last forever. What will happen once Steve and Viktoria decide to go after Bucky once he reappears?For those who have an unknown past and an uncertain futureSeries:Part 1:The Winter Soldier and The Arctic FoxPart 2:Si Vis Pacem, Para BellumPart 3:Dulce Bellum InexpertisPart 4:Amor Arma MinistratPart 5:Peace is just a Temporary State of War





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the part following the events of Amor Arma Ministrat. The story isn't over yet. As I said in the last chapter of that work, I have to say it again: thank you so much to the people who stuck throughout the whole Series and have supported me, and still do it. I really appreciate it and I love you.
> 
> The first chapter is quite short, but I promise that the following ones will be longer. I don't know when I'll be able to update, but I guess it'll be next month, probably?? My finals are coming and I really need to focus on my studying. But I'll always be able to reply to your comments, so don't be afraid to talk to me, it'll make me very happy to answer.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy, leave comments and kudos to support my hard-work!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ((25/06/2017)) Hey, lovelies! I've decided to rewrite the whole series, so if you don't see me update this work, it's because I have yet to decide if I want to continue it. The plot will be basically the same, but since I started it like, three years ago, it needs some polishing/editing and adding more stuff. I've debated for quite some time and decided to finally do it. I still don't know if I'll keep it separate or just add all the chapters into one work, but I'll keep you updated.
> 
> Here's the **rewritten version** [For those who have an Unknown Past and an Uncertain Future](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11318391/chapters/25332711)

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word..." Steve's soft voice made me wake up from a dream and, startled by his singing, I turned around in bed under the covers and looked towards Rebekah's crib. A smile made it's way on my lips when I saw Steve holding our daughter in his arms, lulling her back to sleep as he sung softly to her. "Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird don't sing, Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring..."

It was early in the morning, and I wondered why he didn't wake me up to feed her. I slipped out of bed, trying not to make too much noise and silently took a few steps towards the crib. "Good morning, Princess." I said as soon as Bekah's blue eyes saw me standing next to her father, her expression changed in a toothless smile. I leaned in a gave her a kiss on the head, while she giggled. That was one of the best sounds in the world. "Did you feed her?" Steve nodded and pecked me on the temple, but I gave him a furrowed brow. "You could've woken me up. What do I have these for in your opinion?" I jokingly motioned my hands in front of my chest and Steve chuckled, another small giggle following from Bekah.

"See? Now that she knows what's funny she won't stop laughing." My boyfriend said, and I shook my head at him. "I don't think she's gonna fall back asleep any time soon."

I picked her up in my arms and lulled her around. "We should call Tony and just let him talk about his new inventions. That'll do great." Rebekah tapped on my cheek with her hand and smiled when I looked at her. "What do you say, pumpkin? It's been a while since Uncle Tony came to play with you."

"Alright. I'll prepare some breakfast and call Tony to see what he's up to." Steve gave me a quick kiss and left our room to go to the kitchen.

It had been almost four months since our daughter was born, and I couldn't have imagined how wonderful she'd be. The love I felt for her made me feel complete. She looked like a baby Steve, in everyone's opinion, with the blue eyes and the short blonde hairs on her head, but in her father's opinion, she had my smile and a strong fist. If I thought back on the woman that I used to be, she would've have never imagined herself changing diapers instead of polishing guns and sharpening knives. But I had to be honest with myself and admit that I missed going on missions with the Avengers and fight the bad guys, that's something which has always been part of me.

A few hours later, when Bekah woke up from her nap, Steve told me that Tony was on his way. "There's my little Baby America!" Tony exulted when he arrived at the Avengers Facility, opening his arms to pick up the baby from my arms. I was still a bit hesitant to let him do that, but I had to trust him too.

"What's all of that?" I asked him when I noticed a delivery guy unloading all sorts of shopping bags in the living room. "Tony, most of all of those clothes won't even fit her in a few months!" I said, checking the content in one of the bags.

"Then I'll buy more." He smiled cheekily, Bekah mimicking his expression. She reached up with her tiny fingers and grasped the man's shades, pulling them down his nose. "Like them? You can have them."

"Please, stop spoiling her. She really doesn't need all of this stuff." I told him. The was something different about Tony and, since he heard that Bekah was born, he always called to know how she was and occasionally sent us baby toys for her.

"Viktoria, you're right." Tony said and my eyebrows arched in apparent confusion. "She needs an Iron Man suit." He looked at her chubby face and my eyes immediately narrowed at him.

"Steve!" I yelled from the living room and he ran to us from the kitchen, Wanda and Natasha right behind him. "He's lost his mind." I told him.

"No, I didn't." Tony replied offended. "I just think it'll be a great gift for her first birthday."

"What's he talking about?" Natasha asked, crossing her arms over her chest, while Steve went to pick up our daughter from the man's arms, while the other protested.

"A baby Iron Man suit." I said without hesitation.

All eyes shifted on the billionaire and shot him death glares, but he defended himself. "Not a real one, a onesie will do just fine. Gosh, you're unbelievable."

After the shock, we all sat down in the living room to talk, and the main topic was Steve and mine's wedding, which was coming next week. Vision, Rhodey and Sam joined us after they finished their training. "I'm just saying, doves are a must have." Sam said, shrugging a little when I shook my head at his suggestion.

"I don't want doves, nor I want people to throw rice at us." I said, Bekah in my arms sleeping peacefully. She stirred when she felt my arms adjust under her.

"What?" Tony chimed in. "What's next? No cake?" People chuckled and Steve promptly shushed them not to wake the baby up.

"But you are throwing the bouquet at least, right?" Wanda asked me, and I nodded. Of course I was throwing the bouquet, more cliché than that...

Suddenly, there were a few buzzing sounds and the new Avengers looked at their phones, sighing. "Duty calls." Steve said, standing up from his seat and looked at the rest of the team, before his eyes settled on me and Bekah. "We're gonna be back soon." He said and I bit my lower lip as my heart skipped a beat. Each time they went somewhere to fight, anxiety would start flowing in my veins. I couldn't help but worry for my friends, even though I knew they could handle it. Steve stopped to kiss me and Rebekah on the forehead, before leaving to suit up for the mission.

When I was finally left alone with Tony, I asked him what had ben bugging me for the last few minutes. "Is everything okay? With you and Pepper?" She would usually tag along and come to visit too, so it was only natural for me to ask.

I didn't miss the slight wince, his expression seemed to sadden for just a moment, but then Tony smiled and nodded. "All fine."

"Give it time..." I said, knowing that something was going on even if he didn't want to be honest about it. "All the best couples have their moments."

Tony smiled, and this time I knew it was a really sad smile. "I wish best would apply to solutions too." After a short silence, Tony stood up from his seat and buttoned the jacked of his tuxedo. "Gotta go now, I have some billionaire stuff to do."

I stood up too and stepped closer to him. "Just make sure that 'billionaire stuff' doesn't bury you under more work." I said, knowing that he was distracting himself from his problems with more and more work to do, which wasn't any good. I gave him a light kiss on the cheek, which surprised him, and I smiled at my friend. "We're here whenever you want some company."

As soon as I was finally alone, I went back to my bedroom and put my daughter in the crib, gently running the back of my fingers on her cheek and she made a grimace, continuing to sleep. This was the perfect time to call _him_. I sat on the edge of my side of the bed and opened the drawer of the nightstand, picking up a second phone, which I turned on and dialed a number saved under 'JBB'. It didn't take long for the other person to answer. "Hey, it's me..." I spoke softly.

There was a short silence on the other side of the line before he replied. _"Is everything okay?"_ Bucky asked, and I let out a sigh of relief. _"How's my goddaughter doing?"_

I looked over towards the crib and smiled contently. "She's sleeping... I wish you could meet her." He was still hiding, with no intention of returning knowing that all secret agencies were looking for him.

He sighed heavily. _"You and I both know that if I come back, no one will be safe."_

It hurt me that Bucky still beat down himself for the things that he was forced to do in the past. "Buck-"

 _"Give a kiss to the Princess for me."_ He said before hanging up on me.

My shoulders slumped down and I just stared at the screen of my phone, then turned it off and put it back in the drawer. "Will do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ♡ Please, don't be afraid to talk to me, I encourage you to do so ♡ Feedback is always appreciated (:
> 
>  
> 
> **Any resemblance to real events and/or real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. I don't own Marvel characters nor the story, just my OFC. This is purely fanfiction and the imagination of a fangirl. I love and respect the creators and Marvel.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like, I just noticed that I forgot to add the translation of the lullaby and I'm really sorry, so here it is!!
> 
> "Sleep-sleep-sleep, Don't lie close to the bed side, Otherwise a grey wolf will come, And bite you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the caps buT IT'S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AMERICA'S SWEETHEART CHRIS EVANS♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡
> 
> And to celebrate this beautiful man's birthday, I'm posting a new chapter. I really love him, that's all I can say, there are so many reasons why I think he's precious and must be protected, but I lack words to express my feelings. I love you Chris Evans. Raise your hands if you love him too! ♡♡♡
> 
> Anyway, fluff and angst up ahead, and it seems way too mellow (I guess???). Gosh, wish I could just straight ahead jumped to the part where Buck needs help, but the plot, omg I must follow the plot.
> 
>  
> 
> Honest opinions, please, I feel like my writing has taken some kind of weird turn and I forgot how to actually write something good. Does it give you the impression of a slow pace? Does Viktoria seem like a different person from the previous stories? What about Baby America, do you like her? (I noticed how weird it is to try and write about babies, all they do is sleep, eat and make funny faces - I have a few nephews and nieces, so I know what I'm talking about ahah - ok enough rumbling)
> 
> Please, enjoy this chapter! ♡

I had just finished doing my third round of crunches and push-ups, and got up from the floor still full of energy to use. "Come on, Rogers, I've been waiting for this moment for quite some time now!" I exulted steeping onto the mat.

Steve smirked from his place and tilted his head at me. "Are you sure?" He replied, then joked on my eagerness to get my ass beaten. "I wouldn't want to ruin your back-in-shape plan with a broken arm."

"Ha-ha." I chuckled, then lifted the hem of my shirt to expose a flat and toned abdomen. "See this?" Then showed the muscles on my upper arms. "And this? I'm on for a challenge." I grinned playfully and he stepped on the mat too, getting in position to attack me.

A months after Rebekah was born, I started going to the gym regularly, to get back in shape and fit into that wonderful wedding dress that I had yet to try on. Steve had asked me to take it easy, but thanks to my enhanced abilities, I didn't feel exhausted at all.

A single nod and he charged in action, trying to land the first punch towards my face, but I raised my left hand and swiftly shoved it away, counterattacking. I felt the blood in my veins flowing with excitement, and each time our skin would come to contact, it was as if the touched spot would burn with anticipation for what'd come next. I tried delivering a side-kick to Steve's left side, but he grabbed my ankle and, without hesitation, he pushed it up to make me loose balance and fall flat onto the mat. Instead, I followed the movement of my leg and somersaulted backwards, both feet landing onto the soft surface of the mat.

There was a pause, as we took in our breaths, gazing at each other in the eyes. "Feel tired yet?" Steve asked me, straightening his back and wincing in pain as a spot where I previously hit him started hurting.

"I'm a naturally enhanced being." I chuckled, giving him the time to gather his strength. "I don't know what tired means until I feel it."

Steve shook his head and laughed, then bent on his knees once again, ready to continue. "Alright, future Mrs Rogers, we still have some time before duty calls..." There was a sudden change in his expression, a provocative act, and I knew really well where this was heading to... "You sure you want to spend your energy on the rest of the training?"

I licked my bottom lip and then bit it seductively, already feeling the desire build inside of me. "We won't make it to the bedroom if you keep looking at me like that." I lowered my voice, and that was enough for him to break his stance and crush into me. His lips found mine and his arms laced behind my back, pulling me against his body to feel the warmth seep through our clothes. I let a moan escape my mouth when I opened it to grant his tongue access, and he didn't waste time to feel mine against his.

"Oh, for God's sake... Get a room, you two!" Natasha yelled after entering the gym, Sam right next to her.

Steve and I parted abruptly, looking guilty for having been too caught up in ourselves. "Well, good morning to you too." I breathed out, feeling my cheeks redden in embarrassment. "Where's Bekah?" I asked the redhead, anxiety rising in my chest. She was supposed to be with her.

"With Wanda. She asked me is she could play with her." Natasha replied, setting down her training bag next to the mat.

Steve's fingers closed around my right wrist and he excused ourselves before he dragged me out of the gym, across the compound and back to our bedroom. "It's been some time since we were actually alone..." Steve said, as he made sure that the door was securely locked. He wasn't that wrong, it was more of a challenge to find ourselves with some free time nowadays, between his job as Captain America and mine as a full time mom.

"Are you still up for some playtime?" I arched my brows, taking off my shoes and threw them in a corner of the room. In response, Steve took off his tight t-shirt to expose his toned chest and stepped closer to me, launching his lips on mine once again.

 

We were lying in bed, under the covers with my head resting on his chest, right ear listening to his heartbeat. His fingers were tangled in my long hair, twisting some locks occasionally. I took in a slow deep breath and propped myself up on my right elbow, to look at Steve. "Did you ask Sam to be your best man?"

Steve's hand slipped out of my hair and he put both of his arms under his head, to support it. "No." He replied, quite disappointed. Since the two of them had become friends, Sam has alway been a great person to count on, and Steve appreciated his honest self and bright influence. But there was still something missing in his life, and that was Bucky. "It's been two years..." Steve murmured absentmindedly, blue irises looking at the ceiling.

I felt a faint pang in my chest for having kept the secret for so long, maybe it was time to finally do something and bring Bucky home... And home was us. But he didn't want to be found, Bucky clearly told me not to reveal Steve where he was. I was conflicted between holding onto that promise and still keep it a secret to his best friend. "Steve... What Buck went through- I really am sorry." I sat up, pulling the covers tightly against my bare chest. "You know that if I could turn back time-"

"It's not your fault." Steve interrupted me, pupils shifting to gaze into my hazel eyes.

I shook my head. I never told him how it happened, I never told him about my past. "It is. I was the one to bring him back to Hydra after he fell from that train." His eyes widened in disbelief and he shot up to sit.

"How could you have possibly been there?" I told him once that I was older than him, but he didn't really believe me, at least I thought he would have. "Viktoria, if you have something to say, just tell me." His voice had lowered dangerously, Steve wasn't really mad, but I could tell that his whole behavior had changed in a slit second.

I bit my bottom lip, eyes glancing down at my hands for a moment, then were back on him. "Bucky survived the fall because of Zola's experiments. A soviet soldier found him and brought him to me." Steve's jaw tensed in anticipation, and I continued. "He could have died if I had decided to hide him, that's why I took him to Hydra and asked the doctors to save his life." My heart started racing in my chest at the memory of that poor weak man, barely breathing in my arms. "I couldn't have possibly known what they would've made out of him." My voice cracked and I had to avert my gaze when I felt tears burning in my eyes.

Steve didn't say anything for some time, just focused on his breathing, trying hard not to give into his conflicted feelings. "You had feelings for him?" I turned to look at him, drying my cheeks with the back of my hands. I nodded. "Then why didn't you stay with him?" It sounded like an accusation, thinking that I left him.

"It's not like that." I replied with a furrowed brow. "The higher-ups noticed my attachment to him and decided to take him away." I sighed heavily, rubbing my forehead with my fingers in frustration. "Believe me when I say that I tried to track him for years, and now..." _And now that I found him, he doesn't want you to know that_. Someone knocked at the door and our heads looked towards it. I slipped out of bed and put on a nightgown that was lying around on the floor, then went to open. "Wanda." I whispered with a smile when I saw the girl with my daughter in her hands.

"She's just closed her eyes." The girl told me, smiling back as she carefully placed Bekah in my arms. "I fed her, changed her smelly diaper and we played together." She loved her so much, and I was glad to know that Wanda was feeling part of this family and not lonely after her brother's death. "Is Steve here? We have training down at the gym."

I lulled Bekah when I saw her stir in her sleep. "I'll tell him to meet you there. Thank you for watching her." Wanda shrugged with a smile and leaned to give a light peck to the baby's head before leaving. As soon as I had closed the door, my eyes looked back towards the bed, seeing that Steve had already put back on his gym clothes and was tying the shoelaces on his trainers. "Are you mad at me?" I asked him after putting Rebekah in her crib and covered her with her favorite blanket, pug plush toy next to her.

"No." Steve said, but I knew him too well. This piece of information upset him. "It's the past. And people change." He stopped to look at his daughter and sighed almost imperceptibly. "I'll see you later." He said, before leaving to meet with Wanda. Steve didn't look at me, nor did he kiss me like he usually did. 

I was lying in bed reading a book when I heard another knock at the door. I left the book on the nightstand and walked to see who had knocked, and was curious to find Maria standing there with a data-pad in her hands. "Do you have some time?" She asked me and I nodded, closing the door behind me to talk with her in the hallway. "It's not much, but this is what we managed to gather on Rumlow." She handed me the device and I gave a close look to the information that the agents found.

For the past months, Rumlow had been wreaking havoc all around the world, messing with the authorities, stealing money and weapons, which then sold to profitable buyers. Until the very last moment, I had never known that he used to be on Hydra's side, not that I blame him for that, but after Washington... "Gosh, I should have never slept with that guy." I murmured absentmindedly while going through some details on the pad, and Maria's eyes widened in shock.

"Well, that explains a lot." She said, and I raised my brows while glancing up at her. "Oh," she quickly corrected herself, "it's just that, after you started dating Steve, he seemed quite jealous."

I gasped in disbelief. Gosh, I slept with him once or twice, and it was just to blow off some steam. I couldn't have possibly imagined he'd get that attached. I shook my head at her. "Let's just forget about this horrible fact and return to this," I waved the pad. "If we don't know where he is at the moment, can we at least try and map out his movements?" I asked Maria, and she shrugged, signaling that they've already tried that. "Then, what about his next target?"

"Most of his targets are police stations, so..." I nodded at her words. "Kinda looking for a needle in the hay."

I pressed my lips tightly and slumped my shoulders, returning the data-pad. "Wish I could be of help, but it's been a while since my 'bloodhound' days." 

Maria chuckled, turning off the screen of the pad. "Sounds almost as if you miss being in the field."

She wasn't that wrong, though, I did miss being on the field, and tracking down bad guys was my speciality. Foxes are skilled hunters, with excellent hearing and sense of smell, and they won't stop until they stalk their prey to a corner. The sides of my lips curved up in a small smile, and I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed. "I'm not complaining or anything, but... I feel like I need some adrenaline, you know?"

"After working for Stark for some time, I think I might know what you're talking about." The brunette replied with a nod. "If you find someone to look after Bekah, then we can go to the gym sometime." She offered.

"Sure." I nodded absentmindedly, then remembered that I had been planning to ask her something for a while now. "Are you free tomorrow morning? Because I'm going to try on the wedding dress and I thought you could tag along with Natasha and Wanda..." Maria's face lit with a new interest and she nodded immediately. "Good, see you tomorrow, then." I waved her off and returned into the room, taking some quiet steps to check on my baby girl sleeping in her crib. Rebekah Natasha Rogers. One of the main reasons Steve and I gave her that first name was because it sounded like 'Bucky' when shortened. God, I loved her so much, she was the most pure thing in my life and I was willing to do anything to protect her. Even though she was going to grow surrounded by wonderful people, a huge part of me wanted to keep her away from this life, hoping she wouldn't become like me someday...

Bekah stirred in her sleep and soon her expression contorted into one of crying. She immediately let out her voice to let me know that something was wrong, and I picked her up in my arms. "Ssh, my sweet sunshine, what's wrong?" She buried her face in the crook of my neck and her little fingers gripped tightly the fabric of my sweater. "Do we need to change?" I smelled the air but did not catch on any weird scents. "Do we need to eat, perhaps?" No, that wasn't the case either, usually, she'd cry out even louder. I started humming a soft tune, lulling her around until her crying stopped completely. I saw her bright blue eyes look up at me and I smiled. "You like that? It's a Russian lullaby that mommies sing for their beautiful babies, just like you." Bekah smiled, probably curious, and opened her fists to release the fabric of my sweater and pat lightly on the spots. "Again?" I asked, chuckling. "Bayu-bayushki-bayu, ne lozhisya na krayu, pridet seren'kiy volchok, i ukusit za bochok." I sung to her in Russian, making her giggle because it was rare for me to sing in another language.

"Why are you singing to her in Russian?" I heard Steve say and my smile faded instantly. He had never heard me sing to her in Russian.

I didn't either notice him when he entered the room. That sneaky man... "Because she likes it..?" I said a bit hesitant, and Steve chuckled when he noticed my distress. I was puzzled by his reaction.

"Relax... I didn't mean it as a bad thing. Where's my beautiful girl?" Steve said, stepping closer to pick her up in his arms, but she started making weird faces as soon as she smelled him and closed her fists on my sweater, pulling me with her to him. She was so small, yet she was stronger than any baby in the world. "What's wrong?" Steve's brow furrowed, and he looked at me.

My nose scrunched and he immediately let go of Bekah, leaving her in my arms. "I think you need a shower."

Steve's eyes rolled in annoyance. "You've never complained about that one before..."

"She is." I said, and Bekah giggled, blue irises shifting between me and Steve. 

"And you find that funny?" His eyes widened at his daughter, who in response made another pleased sound, wiggling her arms. "Alright." Steve leaned down and kissed Bekah on her head. "Daddy's gonna take a nice shower, then it's playtime."

Before he left for the bathroom, I couldn't help but say something about what I told him today. "Are you alright? About what I told you today..." Steve just gazed at me no really wanting to reply. "I know it's a lot to take in, and maybe we should also take it easy on the whole wedding thing." There were so many things that he didn't know about me, and I wanted to be sure that Steve wasn't having second thoughts on marrying me.

That was when his expression seemed to tense up, and his eyes gave me a very clear message. "Viktoria, when I asked you to marry me I knew what I was getting myself into. I knew that even before proposing." He sighed heavily, placing his hands on his hips as he averted his gaze and looked at the floor. "What if we take some time off and go on a vacation somewhere?" He asked me, changing topic at the speed of light.

I looked at Bekah and she just stared back at me, right thumb in her mouth. "And leave the team on their own?" There it was again, thinking about our duty to the world.

"They can handle themselves." He replied without doubt. "We get married, go on a honeymoon... Bekah needs some time away from here too." Steve had a point on that, and I was glad that we shared the same opinion. "When was the last time that we went somewhere as a family?"

I thought about it for a moment and shook my head when nothing came to my mind. "Nowhere?"

"Exactly." Steve said, fixing his eyes on mine. "The world can wait. Bucky can wait too."

The thought of actually going somewhere, which we never talked about, made me feel a bit excited, happy that Steve wanted to dedicate his time to his family for once, since Bekah was born. "Got take a shower, babe, we'll talk about it later." Steve nodded and, before he turned around, I wanted to tell him something. "Babe?"

"Hm?" He arched his brows, waiting for me to speak.

"I love you." I said, my heart skipped a beat every time I told him that.

He stepped closer to me and pecked my lips. "I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's life? Well, goddammit, I need to finish a long-ass essay and present it to the/a committee at the end of this month (not sure, they yet have pick out a letter from which they'll start to hear the students) in just 10 minutes, plus while trying to study in between for the rest of my examssss someone send help, I'm drowning in an ocean of books and despair.
> 
>  
> 
> Once again, happy birthday to the sweetest man with puppy eyes, Chris Evans ♡
> 
> Leave comments and kudos to support my work and show some love to the author ♡


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You already know me. I write a lot when I'm stressed out. It's late here and I decided to drop out this piece before heading to bed. Hope you like it and tell me what you think! I'm sorry for the tears that will follow!!

I was humming to a soft tune, preparing something to snack on while Bekah slept back in the bedroom. The television was turned on to a entertaining channel and the volume was quite low. Suddenly, Maria appeared in the kitchen and when I turned to look at her face, I saw her in distress. "You have to see this." Was all she said before picking up the remote and changing channel to a news on.

A female reporter was talking about a video that had been shared over a million times on all social media platforms. _"The images of an explosion that have gone viral in the last hour show an accident involving the Avenger and a group of terrorists-"_ My jaw dropped and my brow furrowed when I saw Steve standing in front of a kneeling Rumlow when suddenly his body lit up in an explosion, but a red energy engulfed him and his body raised from the ground, eventually exploding to a side of a building. _"There haven't yet been confirmed the number of civilian casualties, but-"_

"Where are they?" I asked Maria in panic. That was supposed to be a regular mission. Get Rumlow and hand him to the authorities.

Maria lowered the volume and set down the remote controller. "No contact yet, but they'll come back soon."

This was terrible. My first thought went to Wanda and how she tried to stop Rumlow but didn't manage to hold back the explosion. Steve was right there in front of him, how did he not see it? "Try again..." I was feeling anxious and my heart beat faster at the thought of Wanda taking the blame all on herself for what has happened. 

When the team came back, an awful silence followed them. The following days Wanda secluded herself in her room and didn't want to talk about it, Natasha went to the infirmary to get checked on some wounds, Sam disappeared in his nest too, Steve... Well, Steve was now changing into some fresh clothes, a deep crease between his bows as he kept on staring at his hands. We had yet to talk about what had happened and he mostly kept for himself lately. Before he put a blue sweater on, I noticed some bruises on his body. "What happened?" I asked him softly, finally deciding to bring up the argument. I laid the palm of my hand on his back for some comfort and he looked at me from his peripheral vision, before averting his gaze once again. "Rumlow said that Bucky had remembered me... and I froze." Why didn't he tell me sooner?

As soon as he said that, I could sense the feeling of guilt in his voice when his mind got clouded and he lost focus on the battlefield. "It's not your fault." I said word after word slowly, to let him know that it could've happened to anyone. But why did Rumlow mention Bucky? It mustn't have been just to distract Steve.

Steve shook his head. "Viktoria, he said you were there too when it happened." My breath hitched in my throat and that was when I remembered Bucky asking about Steve, right after they fought during Hydra's uprising.

My hand slipped down his back and I crossed my arms over my chest, then licked my lips before sighing at the memory. "He didn't actually remember you for who you are." I said, hoping he wouldn't misunderstand my words. "He remembered seeing you right after he tried to kill Fury, as the Winter Soldier." Steve just stared in my eyes. The more he asked me about Bucky, the more things tended to get tense between us. "Look, what matters is that you guys managed to stop Rumlow. What happened after was unfortunate, but both you and I know that we can't save everyone, even if we try to." His expression eased up, but still looked mentally exhausted.

"I know..." He murmured, lacing his arms around my waist and brought me closer to him. Steve buried his face in my hair and tried to take in a long breath as I snaked my arms around his shoulders, brushing my fingers through his blonde hair. It wasn't like him to feel so powerless and worn out, but when it came to Bucky he appeared to loose all of his strength.

"Have you spoken to Wanda?" I asked him when we parted. "She doesn't want to talk to me."

Steve shook his head. "She's still processing that people lost their lives during our mission." Steve took in a deep breath and looked towards the front door of our bedroom. "It's no one's fault but Rumlow's."

I lowered my voice and cupped his cheeks with my hands. "She's still young, something like this can take a harsh toll on her conscience and confidence." No matter how much one practices and becomes good at doing one thing, emotions don't ask for permission to make you feel bad about yourself. "There are consequences to everyone's actions."

"She must be feeling as if she let us down." Steve said, but I shook my head.

"We have to let her know that, no matter what, we're here to support her." I gave him a peck on the lips and smiled faintly. "We're family after all. You should go talk to her." He nodded and left the room, while I picked out my phone from the pocket of my sweater and saw that Coulson had sent me a text. I tapped on the screen and then brought it to my ear. "Hey..." I shut my eyes and rubbed them with my fingers, feeling tired.

 _"I just heard about it..."_ The man replied. _"How's the team?"_

"Not that good..." I replied, sitting down at the end of the bed. "I haven't talked about it yet, but I was thinking on postponing the day of the wedding, at least until the news stop talking about this international dilemma and the guys can recover from the shock."

There was a pause on the other side of the line. _"I understand."_ My father replied. When he had heard that Steve and I were finally getting married he was overjoyed, but also knew that would not be able to walk me to the altar for everyone but Steve and Maria knew that he was dead. _"I fear this might take longer than just a few days."_

I saw Vision walk through the door and he smiled at me, before knocking awkwardly on the flat wooden surface. "Hello."

"Wow, you actually walked through an open door." I chuckled, arching my brows at the red man. "Gotta go now." I told Phil and hung up the call, then stood up from the bed. "What's up?"

"Mr. Stark has arrived with a guest." He told me and I tilted my head at him. "The Secretary of State." Vision pointed out and and I felt as if my eyes would've popped out of their orbits from the utter shock. "They're waiting for you in the conference room."

I had to make sure that Bekah was in good hands before I went to meet with the rest of the team, and as soon as I dropped her off to Maria, I headed immediately to the conference room, where the sudden meeting had already begun. When I entered the room, I saw every member of the team gathered around a table, Tony sitting in a corner of the room while the Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross, stood on his feet at the head of the table. "Glad you could finally join us, Miss Alkaeva." Ross said, flashing a fake smile.

I furrowed my brow and my eyes went immediately to look at Steve, who had a slight crease of worry between his eyebrows too. If the Secretary of State decided to show up at our doorstep, it could only mean that something big was going on. I did not make excuses, just made a small nod at the man. "Sir." Then went to stand behind where Steve was sitting with my arms crossed over my chest.

Ross turned to an assistant and the other man passed him some kind of heavy white document. "For the past four years, you operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate." He set the document down on the table and pushed it in front of Wanda, who immediately looked down at the words written on the front page. "The Sokovia Accords. Approved by a 117 countries and it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization." My breath hitched in my throat and my jaw tensed at the sound of his words. I couldn't help but unfold my arms and rest my hands on Steve's shoulders, sensing his well concealed distress about this matter.

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place." Steve replied with a firm tone, staring blankly in front of him. As he did that, it meant that he was trying really hard not to snap at the nonsense that the world had come to discuss about. "I feel we've done that."

I raised my chin and looked at the Secretary of State with suspicion in my pupils. "It sounds more like you're trying to say that everything that has happened in the past years was our fault."

Ross ignored completely my point and continued with his speech, receiving a death glare from me. "Three days from now the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords."

I couldn't believe that the world wanted to have control over the Avengers and have a world on who was worth saving and who was not. My fingers closed around Steve's shoulder a bit tighter and his right hand went immediately to rest on top of my left one, squeezing gently to let me know that he shared my same thought. "And if we come to a decision you won't like?" Natasha, who was seated beside Steve, asked Ross.

Without thinking it over, it seemed like the man already had the answer ready to the redhead's question. "Then you retire." Ross looked at each person in the room before he left, while a heavy tension filled the room.

I slipped my hands down Steve's shoulders and moved from behind him to pick up the Sokovia Accords, reading the subtitle written in capital letters. 'Framework for the registration and deployment of enhanced individuals'. "Unbelievable." I muttered, flipping through some pages and just read random lines from the document. "This is bullshit!" I sneered, stopping to read one particular line from the Accords.

"Viktoria..." Steve called me out on the use of inappropriate language.

I raised my brow in anger and turned to look at him before I read out aloud what made me snap. " _All enhanced individuals with innate powers who agree to sign the accords must wear tracking bracelets at all times._ " I shut the document and threw it on the table in front of him. "Don't you 'Viktoria' me when both of us know this is a complete violation of basic human rights!" I didn't mean to respond so angrily, but I could not believe what was written inside of that thing. "If any one of us signs that, the Governments will be granted with the automatic freedon of detaining us indefinitely without any kind of trial." Silence followed and I sighed heavily, feeling a strong headache pounding in my head. My phone buzzed in the back pocket of my jeans and I pulled it out to see that the person calling me was Coulson.

"Storming off?" Tony asked from his seat when I moved to get out of the room to answer the call.

I stopped in my tracks and pointed one finger at the billionaire, shooting him a death glare. "I really don't have enough fucks to start arguing with you." I said in a really cold voice and left the room, answering Coulson's call. "Let me guess. A dude working for the Government showed up at your doorstep and shoved a bunch of Accords in your face?" I asked with sarcasm in my voice, but I really prayed that that wasn't the case. I couldn't be more wrong.

 _"Talbott."_ Phil said, and I had to stop in my tracks and rub my aching forehead in disbelief. _"I guess you didn't take it well either."_

I chuckled bitterly, then bit down on my bottom lip. "This goes way beyond the concept of consequences." I told him, feeling a slight metallic taste in my mouth, probably from biting too hard on the lip.

 _"What did your team say about it?"_ Phil asked me and I just shook my head at the air. _"Viktoria?"_ He called me by my name after I did not reply.

Was I maybe overreacting a bit too much without listening to those who had something to say about the same matter? No, I mentally slapped myself. Deep down in my heart I knew that these Accords were wrong, and the world was trying to impose them on us. What if one day, when Bekah was older, she'd have to sign those same accords just for being Steve and mine's daughter? I wasn't having any of that crap. "I'm sorry, but I really can't see anything good coming from this. I know that the Governments from all around the world want to be sure that they can trust us, but the way they decided to deal with this is unacceptable." I told him, taking in a deep breath to calm down my fast beating heart. "I fear some of them might actually consider signing the papers..." My voice lowered when I said that, and I had to lean against a wall to support myself.

Phil sighed on the other side of the line in understanding, which meant he completely agreed with me. _"We're currently navigating in dangerous waters here... I know this might be the last thing you want to hear, but you should really postpone the wedding day."_

It pained me to still think about it, but at least now I knew why I had to do it. "I am." I replied, feeling a bitter taste in my mouth. "I just hope we can do something about it." My senses suddenly felt a strange change in the air, as if something had broken but did not make any real sound. I turned my head towards the end of the hallway and saw Steve heading for the stairs with a quick pace, before he disappeared in a matter of seconds. "I'll call you later." I muttered and hung up the call, rushing down the hallway when I heard Steve's heart beat increase dangerously, and the unrhythmical sound filled my ears along with panic. 

When I reached the top of the stairs, I looked down and saw Steve leaning his back against the handrail, one hand covering his eyes as he tried really hard to steady his breathing, but failed each time a shaky breath left his lips. Without hesitation, I stepped down the stairs and pulled him into my arms; as he rested his head in the crook of my neck, he finally let out those tears that he had been trying to hold back with all of his might. His fingers clutched at the material of my shirt on the small of my back as he weeped silently, and I instinctively tightened my hold around his shoulders, one hand stroking the back of his head for some comfort. Whatever made him break down like that, it must've been important.

We stayed like that for a very long time before he pulled slightly away, slowly raising his red puffy eyes to look at me, but quickly moved them downwards and sniffed with his nose. "She's gone." Steve whispered, and my hands cupped his cheeks to make him look at me.

We both knew that it would happen, but didn't expect it to be so soon. "Peggy?" It wasn't easy losing one's first love, I knew it perfectly, but knowing that she was actually _gone_ made my heart break too. Steve nodded at the sound of her name and more tears slipped down his cheeks, which I brushed away with my thumbs and then engulfed him in another embrace, to let him know that I was there for him and that he wouldn't go through this loss all by himself.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been quite some time since I last used gifs in a chapter, so... Here they are
> 
> links: [one](http://rebloggy.com/post/my-gifs-movie-marvel-bucky-barnes-sebastian-stan-bucky-captain-america-the-first/94631214342) \- [two](http://huntmysoul.tumblr.com/lyndsy-fonseca-in-nikita-gif-hunt-under-the-cut-you-will) \- [three](https://giphy.com/gifs/trailer-captain-america-civil-war-l2JJG3t6vCwfT399S)

I just finished helping Steve pack his bag before he left for London with Sam, for Peggy's funeral. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" It must've been the fourth time me asking him, but he still refused. I really didn't want to let him go with just Sam, even if I knew he was of great support. Steve was hurting, but I couldn't understand why he didn't want me to bear half of his pain for him.

"No, you should stay with Bekah." He gave me an apologetic glance then picked up his black bag, before turning to leave. "She needs you more than I do."

Now, I didn't believe that for even a second, but as long as Sam was there with him, I could live with the regret of not packing my bag too and following him to London. "Alright." I replied in defeat, then pecked him on the cheek.

We headed towards the exit, and stopped only when we saw Wanda holding our daughter in her arms with a plushy toy. Steve let go of the bag next to his feet and gently picked the baby from the girl's hands. "Now, Bekah, be good to mommy while I'm away, will you?" He smiled at her and she responded with a frown, blue irises fixed on his. "Don't keep her up for too long at night." He chuckled sadly, then kissed her forehead and she immediately closed her tiny fingers around the collar of his leather jacket.

For some reason, she sensed that he might be gone for a while and begun crying, refusing to let go of the collar of his jacket. "What's wrong, sunshine?" I got close and exchanged a knowing look with Steve, before I tried taking her from his arms. She fought back for a moment, but then let go and threw her short arms around my neck, continuing her crying. "Don't be sad, my love." I patted her lightly on her back. "Daddy's gonna be home very soon." Steve picked up his bag once again and gave a hug to Wanda, then pecked my lips and Bekah's forehead once more before finally leaving the compound with Sam.

It took me a full hour of lulling and pacing down the hallways to finally calm down Rebekah, until she just fell asleep with her head on my chest. I brought her back to our bedroom and, instead of laying her down in her crib, I lied down on my bed with her still in my arms and kept of holding here there. These past days had taken quite of an emotional toll on all of us, and maybe she was able to sense it too. The more I thought about retiring from the Avengers, the more I wanted to buy a house in the middle of nowhere and move there with Rebekah and Steve, yet, I couldn't just ask him to retire too, I knew how much he cared for the team. I wasn't gonna force it on him.

 

The following day was rather silent at the compound, at least until my phone rang at the beginning of afternoon. "Love?" I answered the phone, furrowing my brow at the unexpected call.

 _"Viktoria, I found him."_ Steve said in a low voice, making me jump on my feet in high alert. As I got up from the stool in the kitchen, I accidentally knocked over the object and Wanda jolted beside me, not understanding what was happening.

"What?" I gasped. "How?" Steve was supposed to be on a funeral, not look for Bucky. What the hell was going on?

 _"Didn't you hear about what happened at the UN meeting?"_ He asked me puzzled and I shot a questioning look at Wanda. My heart skipped a beat when I remembered that Natasha was there too.

"Go get a tablet. Now." I told the girl and she nodded without asking questions, then run out of the kitchen. "What do you mean you found him?" All of a sudden my hands started shaking. As soon as Wanda reappeared in the kitchen, she handed me the tablet and I looked for the latest news on the UN meeting in Vienna.

 _"People are saying he was the one to set off a bomb-"_ Steve begun explaining, but my tongue moved faster than my brain.

"It wasn't him." I interrupted him, but I felt as if he didn't believe me. "Steve, it really wasn't him!" A video of Bucky walking in a parking lot appeared in the newsfeed and I was definitely sure of my words. Not only he wouldn't expose himself in front of a camera like that, but he wasn't even in Vienna for what mattered. "That's not him in the video!"

 _"We can't be sure of that."_ Steve replied, sighing heavily on the other side of the line. _"But if it is Bucky, I have to stop him."_

"Hold your fire, babe, give me just a few hours-" It was too late, he had already hung up. This was a disaster. Why were all of those things happening to us? I was ready to bet on my own life just to prove that Bucky was innocent.

"What's happening, Viktoria?" Wanda asked me with a concerned tone, brow furrowed. 

I rubbed my face with the palms of my hands in agony, trying to think about something to do. Anything that would help. "Someone has detonated a bomb at the UN meeting and they're trying to blame Bucky." Wanda looked down the the picture of Bucky and recognized his features. "Don't bother looking at the picture." I shook my head at the screen of the tablet. "That person might look like him but he's most certainly using a Photostatic Veil."

"Why would someone do that?" Wanda asked me perplexed.

I looked at her and took in a deep breath. "People have already witnessed what Hydra is capable of... Why not use the face of the Winter Soldier to spread fear and chaos?" She thought about it for a moment and asked me what was I going to do about it. I picked up my phone once again and dialed the number of the only person I felt like I could trust in that moment of need. "I know you're going through some deep shit right now, but I really need your help."

 

I loaded the magazine to the fullest then slid it into the gun's handle and cocked the top part back, putting the safety back on once I was sure that the weapon was ready to be used. I hid it behind my back, under the large sweater and between the curve of my back and the hem of my pants, before raising my eyes from the metal floor to look at my father holding Rebekah in his hands, smiling at her as he spoke softly. It had been a very long time since he got to see her, and a small part of me was glad that they got to spend some time together. "Are you sure this is okay?" I couldn't help but ask him. As the Director of Shield, he had other duties to attend to so I was hoping this wasn't too much for Coulson. I could've left her at the compound with Wanda, but I knew what I was getting myself into and I just couldn't drag Bekah in Romania with me. I needed to be sure she'd be safer far away from anyone who might've wanted to take her away from me. 

He flashed me a sympathetic smile and nodded his head. "As long as you know what you're doing." He replied, taking a glance at the way that I was dressed. Black clothes and a pair of sunglasses to hide behind as I was going under cover, to try and find Bucky before anyone else did. "We both know that once people find out about your involvement, they're gonna look for her first."

"I know, and I trust you like more than anyone else to take care of Bekah." It was true, if I had to choose someone between him and someone else, I would've made the same decision over and over again. "If Steve had just waited a moment and told me what he was planning to do, it sure would have made this easier." I was practically going blind into all of this. I tried to contact Bucky instead, but his phone was turned off, he must've even broken it and thrown it away. 

"Is this your first time leaving Bekah?" I nodded at my father's words as a feeling of anxiety made my chest heavier. "She's gonna be fine, Viktoria. And I hope you're gonna be careful too." I smiled and nodded once more, hopeful to reassure him that I would be okay. 

"If Steve finds out, he's gonna be real mad." I said with a chuckle. I did think it through... Well, for half a minute, but I was sure as hell that I would not sit around with my arms crossed as Steve attempted something stupid on his own.

"Two minutes to the drop point." Melinda said from the cockpit and I stood up from my seat, as she was about to land the Quinjet somewhere in Bucharest, Romania.

"I really don't know how I'd done it without your help." I said to the two of them. "Thank you." I was truly thankful.

Phil stood up too with Bekah in his arms and stepped closer to me to let me kiss my daughter. "Don't thank me yet. Go get Barnes."

I pecked his cheek too and pulled him in for a hug, while sharing one last glance with my baby girl. She didn't cry nor call for my attention, she just knew that mommy had something important to do and she knew that she was in good hands. As soon as the Quinjet touched ground, I got off and turned on the GPS on my phone with the address that I was hoping would lead me to Bucky, before it was too late.

After politely 'borrowing' a car, I drove to the location and parked in a back alley, hiding my long hair under a hoodie and put the sunglasses on my nose. The red dot on the screen became green and I shoved it in one of my pockets, deciding to enter the building with extreme caution. The hallway and the stairs looked dirty, as if no one had cleaned them in ages. There was no sound of talking people coming through the walls, just an annoying buzzing of flies and mosquitoes. I slowly made my way to the top floor, occasionally stopping here and there to listen for voices from the other apartments, when my nose picked up two distinct scents from a specific location above me. As soon as I reached the last door of the condo, my eyes widened in surprise and I removed the sunglasses, hooking them on the collar of the hoodie and turned the handle with prudence.

Two sets of eyes shifted to look at me when they heard the front door open and close with a swift motion, then a key being turned to lock it. I saw both Steve and Bucky standing in the small room with puzzled expressions. "What are you doing here?" Steve promptly asked me, tilting his head in disbelief. I could not believe that he had decided to wear his Captain America suit as he went to look for Bucky, so much for going incognito... That only meant that Sam must've been somewhere around there too.

My heart started racing since being in close proximity to Bucky, finally, after almost two years of being gone. "What was I supposed to do, you idiots?" I uttered in slight anger, stepping away from the door and walked closer to them.

Suddenly, something flew straight through one of the windows and Steve sent it back out after hitting it with his shield. Another object broke through one more window and it fell in front of mine and Bucky's feet. He promptly kicked it away and Steve covered it with the shield until it exploded. Everything was so sudden that I did not expect Bucky's right arm to lace around my waist and bring me close to him, when he picked up the old mattress from the floor with his left arm and covered us from another blinding laser beam that exploded shortly after. "You shouldn't have come!" Bucky whispered in my ear, before shoving away the mattress and letting go of my waist.

My jaw tensed at his words and I braced myself for the agents that were about to break into the apartment. My first instinct was to grab the gun hidden behind my back, but then I had to remind myself that these were actual authorities and not terrorists or Hydra. "Shit!" I cursed when an agent broke through one of the windows and charged at me. I swiftly kicked the man in the knee and he fell down with a loud cry, then knocked him unconscious with a strong punch on the jaw. Bucky's hands were on me once again and he pulled me down to the floor when a weapon went off, shooting bullets our way before Steve managed to disarm the agent and his eyes were back on me and Buck.

"Watch out!" I yelled from my place at Steve as soon as I saw another person break through a door right behind him. Steve grabbed immediately the barrel of the weapon and deviated the path of the next bullet.

Bucky got off from on top of me and kicked away the agent that Steve had just blocked off. It took me a moment to realize that the two of them had started to fight each other, and Bucky knocked Steve off of his feet, punching the wooden floor beside Cap's head and pulled out what looked like a backpack, which he then threw out of the opened door with strong force.

More agents entered the apartment through the windows and I quickly stood up from the ground and tried to hold them back. Adrenaline was rushing through my veins and my heart was drumming in my chest like crazy. This was supposed to be an in and out operation, not end up in a fight between us and the authorities. All it took me to distract was seeing a flash of Steve being sent flying out of a window and something hard struck me on the face, making me lose balance and fall down on my knees. When I stopped seeing double, I saw that the person who had hit me was laying down on the ground, but Bucky was nowhere around.

One hand took a firm hold of my right upper arm and pulled me up on my feet. "You should have stayed home!" Steve yelled at me when his eyes met mine.

"Shut up and go get him!" I yelled back in reply. "I'll hold them back." He tilted his head at me and I noticed his jaw tensing before he let go of my arm and followed Bucky out of the apartment. I tried fighting back all of agents that kept on breaking into the small apartment, but once I was cornered with guns pointed at my head, I raised my hands in defeat and placed them behind my neck, dropping onto my knees. "Don't shoot!" I yelled in German at the agents. "I surrender!"

Someone grasped my wrists and brought them behind my back, then clasped them tightly with a pair of handcuffs. "You're in arrest for aiding a criminal and obstructing justice." They quickly loaded me on a truck and drove me to the airport. I was pained to find out that I wasn't the only one that had been caught.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's a long ass chapter that I have edited, changed and rewrote a couple of times, and I'm still not that convinced of its outcome. I'll let you be the judge of that. But seriously, sometimes I'm like '???? what have I written???? why do I feel as if this is so bad????' There were so many things that I wanted to write, but each time I felt as if they didn't quite fit in... Please, tell me what you think of this chapter.
> 
>  
> 
> there's angst everywhere. someone give these children a blanket and a hug

Besides Steve and Sam, I was sitting in a CIA car next to a guy that somewhat looked familiar, but I couldn't really put a name to his face. I glanced at him from my peripheral vision, noticing his well built muscles under his sweater, calloused hands that indicated a harsh training. After landing in Berlin, the CIA agents separated us from Bucky and removed our handcuffs before shoving us in a van, to escort us at the CIA compound.

"So, you like cats?" Sam, who was sitting behind us and next to Steve, asked.

"Sam." Both the blonde and I immediately said his name to prevent him from continuing, out of habit.

"What?" Sam looked at the two of us and furrowed his brow. "Dude shows up dressed like a cat, you don't wanna know more?" I wasn't there to witnessed what had happened while they were on a run, but this sure sparked my curiosity.

"Your suit... Is it vibranium?" Steve asked the other man.

I glanced once more at the guy beside me and saw him turning his head slowly, until he met my gaze. "The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations." He replied without spirit in his voice, almost as if something bad had happened to him.

Why was that name so familiar? Something clicked in my mind and I was finally able to put a name to the man's face. "You're Prince T'Challa." I said, more to myself than to him. He averted his gaze and I did the same, looking down at my hands. The man had a strange aurea around himself, as if he was suffering for something, but concealed it well under and expressionless face.

"Because your friend murdered my father... I am King now." My jaw fell slightly agape at his statement.

I couldn't help but shake my head. "I'm sorry for you loss, but Bucky did not kill your father, neither did he plant a bomb at the UN meeting." I knew what grief could do to a person, and T'Challa was so blinded by his pain that he did not want to see past the appearances. An awful silence fell among us, while all of my thoughts were about Bucky. I had really hoped he'd make it and escape, but now I just had to face the fact things have gotten worse than I had expected. Steve did not say a word to me, just silently gazed at my head from behind. Once we reached the CIA compound, we got off the car and my eyes immediately turned to look for Bucky, who had been closed in a metal and glass cage like a ferocious animal. We exchanged a short glance before they took him away.

"What's gonna happen to him?" Was the first thing that Steve asked when he saw a man who looked in charge of the operation.

"Same thing that ought to happen to you." The man replied coldly after looking at all of us. My eyes widened at the sight of Sharon Carter standing beside that same guy in the grey suit. She tilted her head at me, almost not expecting to see me there, but I could've thought the same about her. "Psychological evaluation and extradition."

"This is Everett Ross." Sharon introduced the man to us. "Deputy Task Force Commander." Oh, boy... Another Ross-guy with a sassy attitude.

"Does this mean we're actually being framed as criminals?" I asked, a subtle note of sarcasm in my voice, and the man tilted his head at me, lips resembling a mocking smirk.

"They took off your handcuffs, didn't they?" He said, almost as if the answer to my question was obvious.

I looked around to see that there were agents everywhere, with loaded guns and impassive looks on their faces as we moved across the facility, some people escorting us to an office instead of a cell room. I gasped imperceptibly when I saw Natasha on the other side of a corridor, waiting for us to approach her. When she saw me walking right behind Steve, she shot me a passive aggressive look, pretty much the same one that my fiancé was giving me. "What are you doing here?" She asked me with a low tone after speaking to Steve. "I thought you were in New York with your daughter."

I furrowed my brow and avoided looking at her, just walked straight ahead. "Not now, Natasha..."

"Where's Bekah?" The redhead insisted, hand reaching to grab mine and she pulled me in a corner after we entered a big office, where Tony had been talking on the phone.

I looked at her and shook my head. "Safe." I told her and snatched my hand from her grip. Yes, she was one of my best friends, but I wasn't going to reveal my daughter's whereabouts so che could be used against me as some kind of leverage.

"If you don't cooperate this can only go one way." Natasha warned me, but all I did was stare right back at her and not reply.

Tony hung up his phone and pointed his finger at Steve, Sam and me. "Secretary Ross wants you all prosecuted." His eyes stopped on me and he seemed disappointed for a moment. "I expected better from you."

I crossed my arms over my chest and shrugged. If this was going to be a cold war, then so be it. "I don't live up to your expectations."

"Seriously?" Tony continued. "You have a daughter to take care of, why did you leave her and run to a criminal's aid?!" If the billionaire didn't watch out on his words, I knew I would've snapped back at him like an elastic wristband.

"Tony, that's enough-" Steve stepped between me and him.

"Viktoria Alkaeva?" A female voice called for me and we all turned to look at the middle aged woman who had entered the room. I stepped up and she glanced down at the papers in her hands. "I need you to follow me for your psychological evaluation." She spoke in English with a strong German accent.

Steve's fingers closed around my left wrist and he furrowed his brow at the woman. "Why so soon?" He asked her.

"The sooner we start, the sooner you leave." The woman replied, standing straighter with her back and shoulders. She looked at him from head to know and twitched her lips. "So, do I have to call for an escort detail?"

"No need to." I shook my head. "Lead the way." I softly patted on Steve's hand and he let go of my wrist whilst we exchanged a reassuring glance. It didn't matter if he was mad at me for rushing to Bucky's aid, Steve was still worried something would happen to me now that I was there. Nobody said a word and I had to take in a deep breath before nodding at her. I followed the woman down to a supervised interrogation room and she locked me inside after telling me to wait for the Doctor.

It was a typical CIA interrogation cell, with two metal chairs and a table of the same material. Cameras on each corner of the ceiling and a tall spy glass on one wall. I begrudgingly sat down in one chair and leaned against the table, sighing in defeat as I anticipated this would've taken quite some time. Time passed but no one came to see me yet, except for an agent who entered just to provide me with a bottle of water. Suddenly, the power went down as the emergency lights switched on and a male voice on speakers said in German that the compound was about to be locked down.

"Is anyone there?" I looked towards the spy glass. I promptly jumped on my feet, knocking over the chair and went to bang my fist on the door. "What's happening?" I yelled, hoping someone would hear me from the other side. Someone spoke to me through the speakers and told me to sit back down and wait patiently, but I wasn't willing to do that. I closed my fingers around the handle of the door and forced it to move towards me until it broke and detached from the flat surface, allowing me to get out of the room. People were running towards the exits and the agents that were on duty didn't even bother trying to stop me, they were more preoccupied evacuating the building.

A tall man bumped into me and, without me noticing, he slipped something small in the pocket of my hoodie. "Leave, the Winter Soldier is trying to kill everyone!" Although I did notice his strange accent, I cared more about what he had said.

"Where?" I held him back before he left with the rest of the crowd and he pointed in the opposite direction, then ran away. "Sam!" I called for the man as soon as he had appeared from around a corner.

He ran straight up to me and asked me if I had seen a tall guy with short brown hair, large black jacket. "He's the one who turned Barnes on us!"

How was it possible? Unless they had Karpov's diary, no one would have been able to make him turn in the Winter Soldier. A sudden chill run down my spine when the face of the guy that had bumped into me came to my mind. "I think I saw him-" I breathed out, immediately going after the crowd of people that was still trying to leave the compound. 

There were too many people outside and Sam was able to find only the discarded jacket of the fugitive, thrown on the ground. "Damn it!" 

I slipped my fingers through my hair and sighed in frustration. I knew right from the start that there was something off about him, how could I ever misread his intentions?! I held out my hand for Sam to give me the piece of clothing and he did it, still looking around but not seeing our guy. "I can track him." I told Sam, bringing the jacket up to my nose to smell it. The material emanated a particular scent of sweat mixed with various chemical compounds, as if he had washed off blood from the jacket or had been carrying something like that. As soon as I got the whole scent, I stretched my nostrils and inhaled more air, until I picked up a faint trail of the fugitive. "I'm going after him." I told Sam whilst returning him the jacket. "I'll call you if I find him, you go find Steve." Sam and I exchanged a nod before I ran off following the trail.

 

I spent the last hour walking around Berlin, but all I was able to find was the man's clothes thrown in a dumpster in a secluded back alley, no cameras in the streets that might've caught him. I angrily punched the dumpster and it hit the wall behind it, making a loud noise and scaring some stray cats. "Dammit!" I cursed under my breath. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out, answering after seeing that the caller was Sam. "Hey." I furrowed my brow when I saw a piece of paper fall down in front of my feet.

 _"Steve and I got Barnes."_ I let out a sigh of relief when at least one thing seemed to be going okay. _"What about our guy?"_

I bit my bottom lip and shook my head at the air, whilst picking up the folded piece of paper. "He changed clothes and escaped. Where are you?" Sam told me the address and I agreed to meet with them in a couple of minutes, then I hung up and unfolded the paper. My mouth fell agape when I read the words written inside, the address to one of my old safe houses. The guy back at the CIA compound must have slipped it into my pocket without me noticing. I felt a strong urge to go there, but decided against it since I had already told Sam I'd meet with them.

 

Getting to the abandoned place where I was supposed to meet with Steve, Sam and Bucky proved to be a challenge. The police was patrolling every corner and helicopters flew above the city in search for us. "Guys?" I asked while stepping with caution inside of the empty building.

"We're here." I hear Steve call out, so I followed the source of his voice.

I hurried towards a smaller room, where I saw the three men. "Alright. What's that supposed to mean?" I pointed at Bucky, who was slouched on the ground next to a machine which kept his prosthetic arm from moving.

"Everything's fine." Steve tried to calm me down. "He's back to his usual self." I took in a deep breath and nodded, even though I the sigh of him so defenseless made me feel awful inside.

"What happened back there?" I asked them. "I tried to track down the guy, but he took off his clothes and disappeared."

"He used some kind of trigger words to..." Steve averted his gaze and looked at Bucky. "He wanted to know where Bucky was kept by Hydra."

The crease between my eyebrows deepened and I crossed my arms over my chest. I thought about this whole situation for a long moment before slightly flicking my wrist, and the weight on top of Bucky's prosthetic arm lifted. He seemed puzzled for a moment, then stood up from the floor, glancing at me as the heavy object fell down with a loud bang. I simply couldn't stand to see him like that. "This... man, he's too smart. I can't believe he knew about the diary and where to find it."

"Which diary?" Asked Sam, glancing between me and Bucky.

"The one with all the information about me." Bucky replied to the man.

"He stole the diary from Karpov." Bucky stiffened at the sound of that name. "He was extremely loyal to Hydra and would have never given it to anyone else besides me." Last time I had that red book in my hands, I learned the trigger words and told the man to disappear and keep it safe, right before Shield and Hydra's downfall. Karpov was most likely dead. I sighed in frustration. The more I tried to connect all the dots, the more I was confused. "Skipping to his purpose... What did he need that information for?" The guys all exchanged silent glances and I knew right away that they weren't telling me something. "What?"

"There's a base in Siberia, where I was kept..." Bucky told me, and I could feel that it wasn't easy for him to talk about it. "There are other Winter Soldiers sleeping in cryogenic chambers." I gasped in disbelief. That could not be possible.

No, no, no... This was too fucked up. More Winter Soldiers? How did Hydra manage to replicate Doctor Zola's experiments, unless... Unless they stole the serum from someone else, and that someone else being Howard Stark. I've had the slight intuition back when Howard had died that Bucky must've been involved too, but I wasn't sure of it until now. I lowered my voice and forced myself to ask him even though I really didn't want to revive his memory. "Did Hydra make you steal the serum from Howard Stark?" His silent nod was enough to answer my question.

"We need to find a way to get there before that guy does." Steve said, already thinking about a way out of the country.

I reminded myself about the piece of paper in the pocket of my hoodie and needed to know if something had been taken from my safe house. "I need to do something first." Steve tilted his head at me and I made a slight nod for him to follow me. As soon as the two of us where quite far from the ears of Bucky and Sam, I told him about the note.

"Viktoria, please, why don't you go back to our daughter and leave this to us?" I didn't expect him to change topic so fast, I guessed he was only waiting for us to be alone. 

"Because I can't just sit and watch my family being torn apart because of some stupid accident!" I snapped. I wasn't angry, but all the bottled up emotions from the past couple of days had finally resurfaced and I felt I would suffocate if I didn't say something. "All this pressure, the anxiety, the pain, the secrets... I can't take it anymore!" My voice cracked at the end and I had to cover my face with the palms of my hands, rubbing my tightly shut eyes whilst wishing that this situation was just a bad dream and nothing more. "My first thought was leaving Bekah to Coulson because I feared someone would come for her too." I sobbed and Steve's arms pulled me into his chest.

"I'm sorry..." Steve rubbed the palms of his hands on my back, trying to soothe my pain. He realized how he had been so caught up in his own mind that he had failed to see that I was hurting too, that each time he needed help, I put myself aside and always took care of his needs. Steve didn't even think for a second that the reason why I went to Bucharest was because I, yet again, put someone else before me. And Bekah was no exception, knowing now that she was safe with Coulson. "I should've paid more attention to your feelings."

I shook my head and pulled away, sniffling. "Doesn't matter now..." I said, feeling a bit relieved after crying. I had to push through all of these obstacles and do something, instead of having a mental breakdown. "I'm going to my safe house, see if I can find something useful. You guys find a way to leave Berlin." I told Steve, but he still wasn't sure on letting me go.

"Are you sure about this, going alone?" His hands cupped my cheeks and our eyes locked together.

I took in a deep breath and nodded firmly. "I can take care of myself, Rogers." I pecked his lips and turned on my heels.

 

It had been many years since I set foot into this safe house underground. The door had already been unlocked when I had turned the handle, and it made my anxiety rise. I knew the place was empty, but I still had a feeling as if someone might've been hiding there. The neon lamps on the tall ceiling switched on automatically, illuminating a huge storage room, full of boxes stacked onto one another, with various dusty shelves here and there. I took some cautious steps forward, glancing around to make sure that I was alone. Everything seemed in place, nothing was off... Then how did the guy find out about this place?

"What a waste of time..." I whispered, feeling as if I had been tricked, until at least something drew my attention. I saw an opened box on top of a table, placed in a corner of the enormous room. As I got close, I noticed that the container was empty, so I closed the lid and read the words written on top of it. "Property of SHIELD... Photostatic Veil?!" I gasped at the realization that the guy must had stolen the object from my safe house and used it to frame Bucky for the bombing at the UN meeting.

I sensed a movement behind me, but before I could turn, it was already too late. Something pierced me in the left shoulder and I cried out in pain when I felt a burning sensation, after something had been injected under my skin. My limbs started feeling immediately numb and my knees gave out under my weight, until I fell onto the floor. "Took you long enough to come here." A cold male voice said, same strange accent.

I tried really hard to react and push myself back up on my feet, but whatever had been introduced into my veins, it was stronger than any normal sedative that my healing powers could counterattack. "What did you do to me?" I looked up at the tall man, who had an expressionless face as he stared at me.

"Courtesy of Hydra." He replied nonchalant. "The drug will keep you calm for a few hours." The man crouched down to grab me, but I tried to fight him back. It was all in vain, since I felt the energy leave my body before I passed out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: description of violence and death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for all the angst, promise everything will be over soon.

**Viktoria's POV**

My eyes squinted a few times before I could make out shapes and adjust to the light. I noticed that I was still in my safe house, laying down on a mattress, which was on the floor. "Rise and shine, we have a flight booked."

My breath hitched in my throat at the sound of that voice. I tried moving but my body wasn't responding to my will, I could barely move my fingers. Even if I was awake, the effects of the drug were still strong. "Who are you?" I whispered in panic, frightened hazel eyes following the man's figure as he stepped closer to me.

He gave me a playful smirk and tilted his head. "I didn't introduce myself?" He chuckled with sarcasm. "My bad. I'm Helmut Zemo." He crouched down and his fingers closed around my wrists, pulling me forcefully on my feet. His smirk disappeared as soon as our noses were close and he gave me a cold stare. "If you try anything stupid or call for help while we're out, I'll make you regret it." What did he mean?

He had one arm tightly wrapped around my waist as he dragged me out of the safe house in the streets, where a taxi pulled over and Zemo waved at the driver. Before he had opened the door to help me seat inside of the cab, I saw the reflection of a woman in the window. Her face should've been mine, but he must've applied a Photostatic Veil to concel my identity. Once inside of the cab, he instructed the driver to take us to the airport. I glanced down at my body and noticed that my clothes were different too, more colorful and baggy. He must've taken my phone too.

Something was terribly wrong. The man held my hand and chatted happily with the taxi driver, yet I was unable to process anything of what was happening, I just knew that I was awake. Once at the airport, his arm was back on my waist, dragging me across the terminal to a checkpoint gate. My feet moved slowly on their own accord, following Zemo's. he did say that the drug had been developed by Hydra, but was it meant to strip an enhanced individual of his or her powers? It seemed quite like it.

I saw 'Moscow' written above the checkpoint and then understood that he was still carrying on with whatever plan he had. The lady at the desk gave me a weird smile as soon as she saw how disoriented I looked. "Is everything alright, Mrs?" She asked me in German, but I only gazed at her and didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry." Zemo apologized with a shy smile. "My wife isn't feeling very well, so we're heading back home." I made an attempt to nod, surprisingly succeeding. As soon as the lady returned us the two passports that Zemo had showed, we immediately boarded the plane.

I didn't know long it had been since he had injected the first dose, but I could feel it starting to wear off. I was sitting next to the window, he right next to me towards the pathway. "Whatever your plan is, you won't get far." I murmured the words laced with venom.

Zemo placed the palm of his hand on my left thigh and glanced around to make sure that no one was looking, then I felt something poke me through the fabric of the jeans. "Tell me, why do you have so much faith in your friends?"

I could feel the stinging feeling of the same drug flow through my veins once again, and a shaky sigh escaped my lips. My body relaxed against the backrest and I turned to look at the man. "What difference will it make if I tell you?" I breathed out, my voice barely audible as I felt my consciousness fade away once again.

 

The next time that I woke up, the plane had already begun its landing in Moscow. The more I tried to urge my healing powers to dissolve the drug, the more I felt drunk. Again, my feet moved to their own accord as Zemo dragged me through the airport and out on the streets. I felt shivers run down my skin as cold air filled my lungs, night sky above our heads. "You're not planning to wake up the rest of the soldiers, are you?" I asked him, feeling a tingling sensation in my fingers.

"You should be grateful..." When no one was around to see, Zemo shoved me against a car's side and closed his hands around the collar of my shirt, the top button snapping off from the abrupt force. "I brought you back to your home country, _Lisa_..."

That was enough to make me react. "That's not my name anymore!" I growled back, before stepping on his foot and his grip loosened for a moment, so I grasped the opportunity to push him away from me, making him lose balance. As he was falling down, he dragged me with him.

I harshly hit the concrete but forced myself to crawl away, despite the ache caused from colliding with a hard surface. Since I still was under the effects of the drug, Zemo managed to turn me on my back without too much effort and straddled me, closing his fingers around my throat as he pulled out what looked like a pen from one of his pockets, then stabbed me in the side with it. "I didn't think you'd put up such a fight." It didn't take long before I calmed down, my head spinning and making me feel nauseous. Zemo glanced at the time on his watch and sighed exhausted. "I should hurry, your body's getting used to the poison and it's trying to remove it faster." His words became distant and, the last thing I remembered before passing out, was his hand removing the Photostatic Veil from my face.

 

**Steve's POV**

"She's not picking up." Sam said next to me. He kept on calling Viktoria's phone, but it went off a couple of hour ago. "I know you probably don't want to hear this..."

My fingers closed tightly around the steering-wheel and my brow furrowed. "You sent her a text and she said okay. She's gonna be there." I told him, but something deep inside of me wasn't sure of my words either. 

As soon as we got our stuff back from Sharon, we did not have any more time to waste. But still, my mind was clouded. I shouldn't have let her go, why did I always have to make Viktoria do everything on her own?

I steered the wheel and entered the parking lot next to the airport, ready to meat with the rest of the backup. As soon as a white van came into view, I parked the car and turned off the engine, getting outside to greet Clint and Wanda. I really wouldn't have called them if we weren't in trouble. "Thanks for having my back." I told the two, and they both nodded. "How about our other recruit?" I asked them, curious to see the Ant-Man that Sam had told me about.

Clint turned towards the van and slid the side door open. "Apparently, still sleeping." 

The man inside of the van jolted awake and looked out in confusion, but immediately got out and smiled at me. "Captain America!" He exclaimed happily.

"Mr Lang." I shook back his hand.

"It's an honor." He said, soon realizing that he was still shaking my hand firmly. "I'm shaking your hand too long. This is awesome." He chuckled and then let go, glancing around at the rest of the people. He pointed at me and looked back at Wanda. "Captain America! I know you too, you're great!" The man was so excited that he couldn't help look back at me and touch my chest to feel if it was actually real.

"Did they tell you what we're up against?" I asked Lang, just to be sure that he would be okay on doing this. He nodded, telling me that breaking the law was not a problem.

"Where's Viktoria?" Wanda stepped closer to me, giving me a worried look.

My breath hitched in my lungs, since I thought she'd be here before us, but it wasn't like that. "She said she'd be here." I told her as a worried expression settled on my face. "We tried calling her, but her phone's been turned off for hours."

Wanda furrowed her brow for a moment. "This isn't like her."

"Viktoria?" Lang asked, his eyes wide. "Gosh, I love that woman, she's my daughter's favorite superhero."

I gave him a faint smile, even though I was seriously starting to worry about Viktoria's lateness. "She'd be happy to meet you if she were here."

"We should get moving." Bucky spoke from behind me, silently telling me that Viktoria wasn't going to come with us. I wanted to wait a little bit longer, maybe she was really just late, but as soon as a siren started ringing and voice warned people to evacuate the airport, I knew that waiting wasn't an option.

 

**Viktoria's POV**

I was feeling really cold and my body shook like a leaf, even though I had been covered with many layers of warm blankets. Not only did the drug make me powerless, but I feared that it was also killing me. Zemo stopped talking to me, just dragged me around and every few hours injected the same poison, but higher doses, into my body, trying to stop me from fighting back. 

Suddenly, the door to the side of the snowcat opened and the the man removed the blankets from on top of me, a freezing gust of wind penetrated my clothes and my body. He pulled me out and dragged me inside of the compound that he had finally managed to open thanks to Karpov's diary. He took me to the lower levels, where the cryogenic chambers were. "Please, whatever you want to do... It's not worth it..." I cried out in agony.

"Look what you've done!" Zemo yelled and pushed me down onto the ground, to face the sleeping Winter Soldiers into their cryo-chambers. "Was this worth it?"

He was talking about Hydra. At that point, whatever he had found out about me, he must've known too about my past involvement with Hydra. "I didn't do this!" I growled back, lifting up on my arms to glance at him. My vision was blurry and sweat run down my forehead. "I'm not that person anymore! I have a family..." My voice cracked.

"What about my family?!" Zemo stepped closer to me and kicked me in the guts, my back hit the floor and I struggled to breath. "Wherever the Avengers go, you leave behind death and destruction!" He pulled out a gun from behind his back and cocked the top part back. My eyes widened in fright and I froze, unable to think of anything to do. "You say you're fighting to save the world, but what about all the innocent people that lose their lives because of you?"

My chest heaved painfully. I finally understood his motives, why the world stopped trusting us, why we had been torn apart. Because he lost his family and wanted revenge. "You won't bring them back by waking the soldiers up..." I lowered my voice. "The pain and desire for revenge will only leave empty."

"I'm already empty." Was all he said before shifting his finger in front of the trigger. I closed my eyes and waited for him to shoot me, but when I heard the first bullet being fired, it wasn't at me. I immediately lifted my head and saw Zemo killing each Winter Soldier after the other, five bullets out. "You see... I never wanted to wake them up, I just wanted to tear you all apart."

"And why'd you take me?" I propped myself up on my elbow, looking at him as he put away the gun, before walking back to me and crouching down at my eye level.

With a low and firm tone, he looked straight into my pupils and replied. "To make the Captain know how it feels to lose a loved one."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think about this chapter? I hope I didn't sadden you too much S:


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, I promise there's a happy ending, which hopefully will make up for all the suffering that I've put them through.
> 
>  
> 
> Gif source [Viktoria's gifs](http://huntmysoul.tumblr.com/lyndsy-fonseca-in-nikita-gif-hunt-under-the-cut-you-will) \- [Bucky](https://mostlycap.tumblr.com/post/140895438455/mostlycap-speculation-time-earlier-today-i) \- Steve's gif pinpointed to giphy, but my best guess is tumblr.

My consciousness came and went like a game of pinball, you can't be sure where the ball's gonna head next. I felt a pair of strong fingers close around my chin and lift it up, to make me look at his eyes. "Wakey-wakey..." Zemo whispered. "Your friends are here."

I was sitting on something cold, a chair, my head leaned back against the backrest. At first, my vision couldn't focus and I saw double, but as soon as I understood what he had said, I forced my arms to move, but the wrists were restrained by thick metal clasps attached to the ends of the armrests. "Steve..." I breathed out, but Zemo struck me in the face to silence me. I let out a pained cry.

I lost my focus on reality for a moment, but when I heard Steve's voice, I had to force myself and tell him to leave. I looked up from my spot and saw Zemo's back and in front of him, on the other side of the security glass, Steve's face covered by his Captain America mask. "Leave!" I yelled with all my might, and his eyes finally turned to look at me, shock in his pupils. "Don't listen to what he says!"

"Shut up!" Zemo spat angrily at me.

Steve hit the glass with his shield, but instead of breaking it, the object bounced right back. "Viktoria!" Steve panicked. "What did you do to her?!"

"Viktoria, stay calm." I heard another familiar voice, Tony's. "We're gonna get you out of there."

"No, you won't." Zemo shook his head, impassive expression. "I lost everyone. And so will you." He looked down at the computer beside him and pressed a button on the keyboard.

I begun wiggling in the chair, trying to break my wrists free, but all I did was hurt myself. "Please, don't look at the video!" I cried out at the Steve and Tony, it was only going to break them.

"I said," another fist collided with my jaw, "shut up!" A metallic taste filled my mouth and I struggled to breath until I spit out the blood on the floor, taking in a sharp breath.

"What is this?" I heard Tony's voice shout from the other side of the safe room.

Before I could even make out what was happening, I heard loud blasts and crashing sounds. Zemo crouched down in front of me and softly brushed away some loose sweaty strands of hair from my face. "Now that the empire has fallen..." He whispered, taking out of his pocket one last syringe and waved it in front of my eyes. "I don't need your company anymore." 

I gritted my teeth and, in one last attempt to break free, I hit him in the head with mine and focused all of my strength in my arms. Finally, the metal straps broke and I was free to move. Zemo searched for the syringe, but as soon as he saw that it had broken as he had let it go from his hand, he quickly stood up on his feet and left the room, closing the door after him. "No!" My feet stumbled until I reached the locked door. My fingers closed around the handle and I pulled and pulled, but it wouldn't budge. An explosion outside of the safe room made me jolt in panic, and I feared that they had started to fight each other, aiming to kill. I looked outside of the window and saw Tony shooting blast at Steve and... Bucky. He was here too.

I banged my fists of the glass, but it was just as Zemo said, it was made to resist any kind of attack and it wouldn't break that easily. My heart beat faster as fear filled my veins, I wanted to stop them from fighting, but I was powerless. "Stop it!" I yelled, hoping they would hear me, but Tony was too far gone. The pain of learning how his parents died made him lose his mind. 

I saw Steve blocking off Tony and shoved him away from Bucky, telling him to leave, but Bucky picked up a machine gun from the ground and gestured for me to move away from the glass, before he started shooting. The bullets bounced back, leaving some barely visible scratches on the surface. "Just leave, get out!"

"Not without you!" Bucky yelled, but Tony hit him from the side with his Iron Man suit.

I took in a deep breath and mentally slapped myself. "Come on, Viktoria..." I murmured at myself while placing the palms of my hands flat onto the glass. "You've got two-hundred years shoved up your ass." Even though I could still feel the drug affecting my abilities, I wasn't gonna let it stop me. I focused all of my energy into my fingertips but nothing happened. "Dammit, you can do it!" I thought about how I just wanted to get out of there and stop them, but it wasn't working, I needed a stronger motive. Rebekah's smiling face appeared in front of me and I tried focusing once again on the glass, the tips of my fingers tingled and a faint blue wave was release. The glass vibrated, but it wasn't enough to break it. I gritted my teeth and started pushing on the glass, growling from the exertion until a stronger blue wave shot out of my fingers and the glass shattered in tiny pieces.

I could hear the sounds of the ongoing fight not much far from where I was, so I pushed myself over the new opening and got out of the safe room, losing balance and hitting the floor covered with shards of glass. I didn't care how they cut through my clothes and dug into my flesh, I just wanted to get to them. As soon as I reached an open space, I saw Steve straddling Tony, shield stuck in the Iron Man's chest. "Please, stop..." I breathed out, letting my body slump down against a wall as I looked at them. Bucky was lying on the ground a few feet away from me, left prosthetic arm missing. "Can't you see what he's done?" I sobbed at the sight of my family town apart, and I knew that there was no going back from this, all because of Zemo.

Steve panted as he turned his head to look at me and let out a painful sigh, before getting off of Tony and removing the shield from his chest. He stumbled to Bucky and pulled him up to his feet, right arm around his shoulder to support him. When they turned to leave, Steve's eyes stopped on mine, resting on the floor with my left shoulder resting against the wall.

"You don't deserve it," Tony propped himself up on his elbow, looking at Steve, "my father made that shield."

He didn't think twice about it. Steve nodded while still looking at me and dropped the shield on the ground, holding out his hand to help me stand up from the cold floor. "Let's go."

I followed them out of the old Hydra compound, fighting back the urge of my knees to give out under my weight, but as soon as a cold gust of air penetrated my bones, I finally let go and collapsed on the snow. I was shivering, my body and mind were unable to function since I've used all of my energy to break free from the safe room.

Steve dropped immediately Bucky's arm, who was now able to stand on his own, and he crouched down beside me, on his knees. "Love, what's wrong? Please, look at me..." His warm hands cupped my cheeks as panic rose in his chest. Steve picked me up in his arms and turned to look at Bucky, but their eyes met a familiar figure dressed in black. "She's freezing." Was all he said, hopeful that T'Challa would have some compassion and not start another fight.

The man gave a small nod, the look in his eyes seemed different, more peaceful. "Follow me." Was all he said, before turning on his heels.

Steve pressed me tightly against his chest, kissing my sweaty forehead to give me some confort. "Hold on, love... Just stay awake, don't close your eyes."

"Steve-" Bucky murmured as soon as he noticed my eyes flutter shut.

Before darkness enveloped my vision, I saw something furry in the distance, cloaked in white which made it almost impossible to notice. The white fox raised its long nose to the sky to see the falling snow, and then looked back at me, hazel eyes resembling mine, before disappearing in the distance as if having never been there.

 

My eyelids batted a few times and I took in a deep breath, feeling warmth all over my body as I had been covered with a soft blanket. A hand was resting on top of mine, rubbing the thumb on the skin soothingly. The corners of my lips immediately curved up in a tired smile at the sight of Steve sitting beside the bed, his eyes closed and his forehead resting against the back of his hand, elbow on top of his knee. "Steve?" I murmured in a hoarse tone.

His head snapped immediately up and he shot his eyes open. "Good morning, beautiful." Steve stood up from the chair and leaned in to kiss me on the lips, holding my face between his hands as he his heart finally found some peace. "I was so worried..." He whispered softly, resting his forehead on mine. "The doctors said you had high amounts of unknown chemicals in your system." Steve sat back down in his chair.

"Courtesy of Hydra..." I chuckled remembering how I thought I was going to die, but Steve didn't find it funny. "That's what the Sokovian said." I let out a long sigh and just gazed at his eyes. "I know your eyes. There's no green in them." Steve took my left hand between his and gave it a kiss, hovering his lips on the skin before I reached out for his face to caress his right cheek. "How are you feeling? Is Buck okay?"

"I'm okay." I hear the reply come when a door was slowly opened and closed. I saw the look he gave me and I pushed myself up to sit. "We're okay." Bucky corrected himself when he stepped closer to the bed and put his right hand on Steve's shoulder. I couldn't help but gaze at his missing left limb, which brought back old memories from my time in Hydra.

I shut my eyes closed and shook my head, fighting the urge to cry. "I should've..." I sobbed, and then looked at Bucky once again before setting my eyes on Steve. "If I had told you months ago, maybe none of this would've happened." The blonde furrowed his brow in confusion. "I knew he was in Romania..."

"I know." Came the reply, and my puffy eyes widened. "Bucky told me. I'm not mad at you."

I nodded in relief, but still, there was a slight guilt in my chest. "How long have I been out?" I asked, finally taking my time to look at my surroundings, noticing that I was in some kind of hospital bed, but more warm and with a bit of personality. My hospital gown, well, that seemed to have some funny personality too, with all the grey geometrical patterns on a white unicolor.

"Three days." Steve's hand was back on mine. It gave me the impression that he needed to physically know that I was there and well. "I gave Coulson a call, he should be here with Rebekah very soon." I started crying once again, but not sad tears, happy ones this time. I just wanted to hold my baby girl.

Someone knocked at the door before entering, and I was surprised to see T'Challa, dressed in casual clothes and with a kind smile on his features. "I'm glad to know that you're awake."

I gasped in disbelief when I saw Bekah in his arms, her fingers clutching tightly around the collar of his sweater. As soon as she turned her head and saw me, she let got of the man's piece of clothing and extended out her arms, calling for me. I pushed away the blanket from my body and put my feet of the floor to stand up. Steve and Bucky moved aside to let me walk to T'Challa and pick her up in my arms. "My beautiful sunshine!" Bekah smiled and launched her arms around my neck. "Thank you." I said to T'Challa and he made a small nod. My heart was rejoicing for having been reunited with my daughter. "I missed you so much..." I lulled her, and only then remembered that Bucky had never seen her, I didn't even send him pictures. "Steve?" I smiled wide teeth when I turned to look at the two men. "Would you be so kind to introduce our daughter to her Godfather?"

I couldn't believe the fact the he was really meeting her. Steve smiled at my words and picked up his baby in his arms. "Hey, pumpkin." He kissed her forehead and spoke to her. "Remember when I showed you the pictures of my childhood friend?" Bekah gazed in confusion at her father but soon a shy and toothless smile appeared on her lips, as she glanced at the man with brown hair. "This is James Buchanan Barnes, but we call him Bucky." Bucky's eyes welled up and he had to rub them for a moment, hoping this was all real and not just a dream. "Bucky, meet Rebekah Natasha Rogers, but we call her Bekah."

"Can I hold her?" Bucky asked excited, raising his eyebrows. "I only have one arm, though." He chuckled, but was surprised when Steve gently placed the baby in his right arm. He held her tightly to his chest, but not so tight that it hurt. "Hi." Bucky's eyes had a newfound spark in them, something that I've never seen before, but it made me really happy. Bekah tapped on his chin playfully, then giggled when he kissed the palm of her hand. "I already love you."

If three days ago the world seemed like a dark place, today I was finally seeing the light of the sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raise your hands for Godfather!Bucky ♡ Did you like this chapter? If yes, what part was your favorite? ♡

**Author's Note:**

> ♡ Please, don't be afraid to talk to me, I encourage you to do so ♡ Feedback is always appreciated (:
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> **Any resemblance to real events and/or real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. I don't own Marvel characters nor the story, just my OFC. This is purely fanfiction and the imagination of a fangirl. I love and respect the creators and Marvel.**


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